Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
| platforms = PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | released = October 26, 2010 | genre = Open world, third-person shooter, action-adventure, Western, Survival horror | modes = Single-player, multiplayer | ratings = | media = Digital distribution, Blu-ray Disc, DVD | writer = Dan Houser Sam Houser | input = Gamepad }} Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare is the fifth downloadable content (DLC) pack released for Red Dead Redemption. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and for Xbox 360 on October 26, 2010. Undead Nightmare follows the exploits of John Marston, as he searches for a cure for an infectious zombie plague that has swept across the American Old West. Coincidentally, the original concept for Red Dead Revolver was a western-horror hybrid video game where Red Harlow fought zombies. A standalone disc titled Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Collection which does not require the original Red Dead Redemption game to be played, was released on November 22, 2010 in North America and November 26, 2010 in Europe. The disc includes three DLC packs: Legends and Killers, Liars and Cheats and Undead Nightmare Pack. The "Undead Nightmare Pack" downloadable online however, does not include any 'extra' DLC content. Gameplay outbreak.]] Undead Nightmare features an open world with numerous zombie-related elements incorporated into the atmosphere and environment. Random encounters with bandits, lynch mobs, etc. have been replaced with random zombie encounters. Bounty missions are now replaced with missing person missions. Gang hideouts are replaced with graveyards across the map, in which the player can clear out hordes of zombies. Players can now hunt zombie animals such as cougars, bears and wolves, as well as mythical creatures such as Sasquatch, Chupacabra and a unicorn. The Four Horses of The Apocalypse can also be tamed and used as mounts, each having their own unique ability or effect upon zombies and the environment surrounding the player. The game also introduces new weapons for the player to use. Much like skinning animals and looting dead bodies in the original single player, players can now loot zombies for parts. In turn, these zombie parts can be used as ammunition for the blunderbuss, in order to conserve ammunition. Along with new single player features, Undead Nightmare introduces new multiplayer features, including "Undead Overrun," in which up to four players must work together to fend off increasingly difficult waves of zombies. Undead Nightmare introduces "Land Grab," a new feature for regular free roam, in which players must hold a territory in one of seven major towns for a set amount of time, defending their territory from attackers. The player at the end who held it for the most time as well as having the most kills gets the majority of the awarded points. In addition to new game types, Undead Nightmare includes eight zombie multiplayer skins for players to use. Synopsis The world of Red Dead Redemption has been beset by an apocalyptic plague. The dead have arisen and wander the Earth in search of fresh life to infect as great storms sweep across the land under a veil of darkness. Plants rot where they stand and packs of undead animals roam amongst the undead. Fearful stories are told of mysterious, almost mythical beasts at large in the wilderness. Experience a supernatural twist to the narrative arc of the original story from Red Dead Redemption. John Marston is alone in the world, to save his family this time he must find an antidote to the horrors that threaten the existence of humanity. Towns and settlements are under attack from hordes of undead, with small, isolated pockets of human survivors huddling together for protection. John must rescue survivors and try to turn the tide against the onslaught from beyond the grave if there is to be any hope. Ammunition is at an absolute premium. As the undead plague takes over the land, there is no more game to shoot and besides, every last bullet needs to be saved to fight the undead encroaching on the last bastions of human sanctuary. But what is the source of this hellish blanket of destruction and how can it be reversed? Rumors abound among the cowering survivors, and John must choose who to believe. Trapped in a living nightmare, John must travel far and wide in search of an answer. Plot In Undead Nightmare, John is in his house with Abigail and Jack. They are all talking about general things, like a book Jack is reading, when they mention that Uncle hasn't returned from what he was doing yet. John believes that because of the storm, Uncle has probably gone to a dry place nearby and will stay there until the storm subsides. Uncle is then seen loitering outside the house; unfortunately, he is undead. Later that night, while John and Abigail are asleep, Uncle invades their room and tries to attack them, and John fights back, seemingly knocking him out. John heads for his gun in a nearby shed but on his way back, Abigail runs out of the house screaming, pursued by Uncle, who bites her in the neck. John shoots Uncle in the head and tends to Abigail. Jack comes outside and tries to help his mother. However, Abigail turns into a zombie and bites Jack, infecting him. Meanwhile, John runs for his lasso and hogties both of them. After giving them both a plate of food, he leaves them in the house and sets out to find a cure. John then goes to Blackwater, where he finds Professor MacDougal, who returned from Yale to document the undead infestation. Macdougal is killed by an infected Nastas and John is forced to clear out Blackwater and look for more survivors. He finds a family on a roof, killing undead, but they are no help. John finds another group of survivors who all give him multiple theories they suspect caused the plague, including a "Snake oil merchant" and a "Freak with a glass eye(Seth the Grave Robber)". If John goes to Tanner's Reach, he will meet a hunter who claims to have just shot a Sasquatch, starting "The Birth of the Conservation Movement" mission, which has John try to hunt down six Sasquatches. After finding the sixth one, John learns that his hunting has doomed the Sasquatches and the last one there asks John to kill him because his family is dead. John can choose to kill him or not. New Austin If John decides to follow the "Snake Oil Merchant" lead, they will find Nigel West Dickens in Fort Mercer, trying to sell his elixir as a cure and repellent to the plague. John forces Nigel to stop selling it, and Nigel complies and hands out free samples to see if they like it. The elixir is actually more of a bait, and the drinker is killed by undead soon after drinking. Nigel is disappointed and asks John to find him five Desert Sage and five Violet Snowdrop to see if he can make a better cure. He also gives John some of the elixir to use as bait. After John finds the flowers, Nigel makes a phosphorus bullet coating with it, and then asks John to find him some old parts he needs. After John finds the parts, Nigel uses it for a Blunderbuss, telling John that it is the ideal weapon for undead killing. He also tells John that he is trying to get to Mexico and should be in Solomon's Folly in a few days. At Solomon's Folly, John finds out that all paths to Mexico are blocked, and that Nigel has no way of getting to Mexico. Nigel tells John that if he gets a US Army uniform from some deserters, he can sneak on a train manned by the US Army that is headed to Mexico. Nigel goes off and John doesn't meet him again. If John decides to follow the "Freak with a glass eye" lead, they will find Seth in The Old Bacchus Place, playing cards with an undead Moses Forth. John asks Seth if there's a cure to the plague, and Seth tells him to clear the graveyards. After John clears out 3 graveyards and goes back to Seth, Seth tells him that the cause of all this has something to do with the Aztecs, and tells him to head down for Mexico if he wants to cure the plague. In MacFarlane's Ranch, John meets Bonnie MacFarlane, who tasks him with trying to find her father, Drew MacFarlane in the barn, although she tells him he has been in there for more than a day. John finds Drew in the barn, zombified. John is forced to kill Drew, and he goes to Bonnie and tells her what happened. In Plainview, John finds D.S. MacKenna, who tells John to bring him a Retcher, because Mackenna desires to make a zombie movie. Once John does so, Mackenna sets it and another undead loose, and they both proceed to attack Mackenna, who is turned undead. John then can kill all three of them. In Armadillo, John meets Marshal Leigh Johnson, and Johnson asks John to find Eli and Jonah, who have been missing for a few hours. John finds Eli eating Jonah, and they both attack John. John then has to kill them both, and tell Johnson the news. Johnson also gives John a Sawed-off Shotgun. In Fort Mercer, John sees an Army Captain posting up a missing persons poster for Millicent Waterbury. The Captain asks John to find the girl, and John finds Millicent in Pleasance House, although undead are trying to attack her. After John saves Millicent, they head back to Fort Mercer and the Captain thanks John and tells him there's more missing persons if he wants to help them. If John heads to the deserters, he finds them being attacked by undead, he can either help them and earn the uniform, or steal it and suffer the consequences. After John has the uniform, he can head to the train, where he finds the US Army being lightly hassled by undead. After John helps them clear it out, they head to the border. At the border, the captain tells them all to get off and clear the roadblock. However, they are attacked by undead and the US Army retreats, leaving John to kill the undead. After he has dealt with them, John can man the train and smash through the roadblock into Mexico. Mexico In Mexico, John finds that it is actually in worse shape than America, and he heads to Las Hermanas, where he meets the Mother Superior. She tells John that other nuns are not as resourceful as her, and that he needs to head inside Las Hermanas and save the town. After doing so, Mother Superior thanks John and he asks her why the plague is happening. She tells John that she needs a normal Undead to really find out. After John brings her a normal Undead, Mother Superior tells John that she suspects evil, and she pours holy water on the undead, who is briefly bathed in blue flame, but is not killed. She asks John if he can clear out the Sepulcro graveyard for her, and she gives him Holy Water. After he returns, Mother Superior tells him that a woman told her that the cause of all this is because of something Abraham Reyes has done. John is then tasked with heading to Escalera and finding out what's really causing all this. In Casa Madrugada, John meets Landon Ricketts, who is busy ridding the town of undead. Landon seems to be holding off all the undead by himself, and he tells John that if he can find something that attracts the undead, he can combine it with Dynamite and really kill the undead quick. After John brings Landon undead bait and Dynamite, Landon combines them and makes Boom Bait, after handing it to John, they say farewells and John leaves. In Escalera, John finds a woman, who tells him that Reyes is up ahead. John finds Reyes, however, he is Undead and is trying to eat a woman. After John kills Reyes, the woman tells John that the cause of all this is because Reyes' lust for invulnerability made him steal an ancient Aztec mask, and this is why the plague started. They take the mask to the crypt where Reyes found it, and after John places the mask back in the altar the women reveals herself to be Ayauhteotl, an Aztec goddess. This action causes the undead to be returned to normal, and John heads home to his family. Epilogue Upon heading back to Beecher's Hope, John finds that Abigail and Jack are fine, and they are happy again. After the events of the main game, John is dead, and in Escalera Seth is shown stealing the ancient mask, causing the dead, including John, to return as undead. As John was buried with Holy Water, he returns as an undead with a man's soul, allowing the player to still play as him. Soundtrack Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack of video game music used in the game. The music was mainly composed by Friends of Dean Martinez member Bill Elm and ex-member Woody Jackson along with additional contributions from various musicians. Recorded at 130 beats per minute in A minor, most of songs featured are constructed from stems in the game's dynamic soundtrack. The songs in Undead Nightmare feature heavier rock overtones than their counterparts in Red Dead Redemption, and some songs are "distorted" or "creepier" versions of songs that were in the original Red Dead Redemption. Reception Undead Nightmare has been well received by critics. As of June 2011 it has sold two million units at retail. Undead Nightmare received a 10/10 from IGN, stating "Undead Nightmare is what downloadable content should be – a lot of bang for your buck." As of the 1 February 2011, Undead Nightmare has an aggregate review score of 87 (which indicate generally favourable reviews) for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions on Metacritic.Metacritic.comMetacritic.com At the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards, Undead Nightmare was awarded as the "Best DLC" (downloadable content) for 2010 video games. References External links * * *[http://reddead.wikia.com/wiki/Undead_Nightmare Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare] at Red Dead Wiki Category:2010 video games Category:Euphoria Engine games Category:PlayStation 3 games Category:Red Dead Category:Rockstar Games Category:Video game expansion packs Category:Science fiction Westerns Category:Xbox 360 games Category:Zombie video games Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom Category:Video games developed in the United States Category:Western (genre) video games Category:Weird West